What Does an Occupational Therapist Do for a Child? A Secret About Your Therapist!

I want to let you in on a little secret about we therapists. We don’t consider our appointments together to last an hour. Most of us dedicate much more time than that one hour in which we visit each week or month. Have you ever wondered, ‘What does an occupational therapist do for a child?’

What Does an Occupational Therapist do Between Visits?

Honestly, most of the answers below will be the same for all kinds of therapists: speech therapists, family counsellors, nutritional counsellors, and more. So here are some of the things that your therapist will be doing behind-the-scenes that you’ll never know about!

1. Outside of sessions, we research topics related to your case

As much as we hate to admit it, therapists don’t know everything about challenges that children and families might face together.  Sure, as a specialist in sensory integration disorders, I’ve seen almost everything there is to observe in growing children. 

I’ve worked with children dealing with the day-to-day challenges of dyspraxia, autism, sensory processing disorder, and other motor skills challenges.  However, just as technology advances from year to year, the way we live our lives changes, too. 

Just think: occupational therapists of 50 years ago didn’t have clients who needed finger dexterity to use a smart phone as we do today!

For that matter, we didn’t have the option of teaching clients with dexterity problems to use a large-button tablet to turn in legible homework, or communicate written needs.

Times are always changing, so our approach must be flexible.

What does an occupational therapist do when a client faces unique challenges or has specific needs in their life? We turn to research. We read the latest publications of scientific research. 

And, we study to understand the latest findings in treatment, behavior, psychology, and medication, too.

In fact, most therapist certifications or degrees require a certain minimum amount of ongoing education and practice seminars.  This continuing education is required to maintain our legal certification. 

We continuously attend conferences and webinars, read books and journals, and more. Therapists do this throughout the year to keep our skills state-of-the-art.

We may spend hours writing notes and devising exercises to try with a client. Our goal is to be prepared for each visit to make the most of our time together, not spending it looking information up.

2. We spend time consulting with colleagues to create the best treatment plan for you

Our research goes beyond books and online journals, too.  The best help often comes from colleagues who have worked with clients in similar situations. Consulting with other therapists is a large part of our preparation for client visits.

There’s no sense re-inventing the wheel, as they say. We want to find the best treatment plan for you in as little time as possible. This is so that children and families can experience improvement as soon as possible.

That’s why therapists spend a lot of time reaching out to colleagues and discussing current and past case studies.  We value the opportunity to learn from one another.

This allows us to create the best treatment plan for you.

My extra work is rewarded when parents thank me for explaining the issues that a child experience and how it relates to the challenging behaviour they have been struggling with for years. To see the relief in the parents when finally knowing what the matter is, and to have a plan of action to help their child.

– Marga Grey, OT

3. We hold you in mind between sessions, too

Our clients don’t fall out of mind the moment we exit our session. In addition to considering your case from many angles, researching case studies, and discussing ideas with colleagues, my clients are often on my mind. I may see something in my day that makes me think about you;

• a butterfly that makes me think of how much little Ana loves to draw butterflies when we practice handwriting;
• a social media post that makes me laugh that I share with a struggling mum that I know could use a good chuckle; or
• a dinosaur toy in a store that triggers an idea for a game to use with a client who always carries his favorite T-Rex everywhere he goes.

My clients rarely leave my mind for too long.

What does an occupational therapist do when they feel helpless with a particularly difficult challenge?

Being a pediatric therapist of any kind isn’t always easy. Whether you’re an occupational therapist, a family counselor, speech therapist, or dietitian, there can be challenges. 

There can be very difficult sessions with clients that are very frustrated or tired. There are moments when we might want to give up, too. Especially if we aren’t seeing the progress that we expected to see.

These challenging moments are the times we must bring up reminders within ourselves of the success stories and joyful moments that balance out the hard times.

“When I see a parent and child hug after an intense session, I know all the hours and frustrations were worth it. I love working with people, helping them reach their full potential and living happy lives.”

– Colette Dekker, family psychologist

“Nothing beats the surprise on a child’s face when they manage a task with which they have struggled before!  It might be tying shoelaces, balancing, catching a ball, or improved handwriting. 

The light in the eyes and the excitement on the face is precious!  I cannot think of anything more rewarding than to watch this child and to know I contributed to this success story.”

–  Marga Grey, OT

 “You know the extra work is worth it when gratitude is expressed by families for the quality of care that they have received. I enjoy my work because I get to support families and help them make informed decisions about their child’s eating. This can make a positive contribution to their present and future health and wellbeing.”

– Amandine Barnett, dietitian

We Love Our Team of Therapists & Providers – We Think You Will, Too!

As you’ve probably heard by now, our team at CoordiKids is growing. In addition to our global network of pediatric occupational therapists, we now have a multi-disciplinary team of providers. 

Our team has been hand selected to help families from a variety of angles. Our team approach means better care for families.

Working together with occupational therapists, speech therapists, dietitians and family counsellors gives us more opportunity to help your family find a path to happiness and comfort in your daily lives.  It is now possible to access virtual therapy at CoordiConsult.

Book Your Free 15 min Consultation Now!

Meet Marga Grey, developer of the Coordikids Courses in a 15-minute consultation at no charge to you! We think you’ll love the convenience of virtual consultations.  Also, you will love the wonderful wealth of help and knowledge she could bring to your family.